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Embarrassment, chaos and despair were some of the words used in the Dutch media to describe the Netherlands’ 2-1 defeat to the Czech Republic on Tuesday while Turkey are also in need of some self-reflection. |
The Oranje team were criticized and even Guus Hiddink - a mere two games into his second spell in charge - was called into question.
“Hiddink has already lost some of his credibility,” the Algemeen Dagblad wrote yesterday, from what it described as “an evening full of chaos and despair.”
The Netherlands lined up with the 5-3-2 system often used by previous coach Louis van Gaal in the World Cup this summer, despite Hiddink being critical of the formation and suggesting he would return to a traditional Dutch 4-3-3.
“The disgrace of Prague,” was the view of De Telegraaf with De Volkskrant describing it as “one of the most embarassing performances in a long time.”
Despite the harsh words, the Netherlands actually came cross to drawing the game 1-1 - only a hideous misjudgement by defender Daryl Janmaat in injury-time presented the Czechs with the winning goal.
The Netherlands, who showed their quality by finishing third in the World Cup, can feel confident of turning things round in Group A which also contains Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia and Turkey.
While Kazakhstan and Latvia played out a low-key goalless draw on Tuesday, in Iceland Turkey were falling apart to lose 3-0. Their miserable night also included a red card for defender Omer Toprak.
The performance left coach Fatih Terim furious and he told the Hurriyet newspaper: “We deserved to lose, I am very disappointed in some of the players.
“From now on, the only players allowed to wear the national jersey will be those who earn it.”
The news channel NTV described the defeat as a “collapse” while former player and now sports columnist Ridvan Dilmen was also highly critical.
“We have brought absolutely nothing,” Divan said. “If we had played for three days and three nights, the winner would still have been Iceland.”
Both the Netherlands and Turkey have home matches next as they look to get their campaigns back on track. The Netherlands host Kazakhstan while Turkey welcome the Czech Republic.